IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 346 

Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab 

Republic. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Mr. YOHO (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina, Mr. COOK, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. ISSA, and Mr. CLAWSON of 

Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the 

Syrian Arab Republic. 

Whereas, as a result of over four years of civil war in the 

Syrian Arab Republic, Syrian deaths have climbed to 

more than 230,000 deaths, and more than 6,000,000 

Syrians have been displaced; 

Whereas the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab 

Republic released its report on September 16, 2013, confirming that surface-to-surface rockets containing the 

nerve agent Sarin were used in the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21, 2013, an attack which killed over 

1,400 people according to a United States Government 

assessment; 


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•HRES 346 IH 

Whereas the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical 

Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council adopted a decision 

on September 27, 2013, which required Syria to destroy 

its chemical weapons program by June 30, 2014; 

Whereas a White House statement on August 18, 2014, 

marking the end of destruction operations on the MV 

Cape Ray said that ‘‘serious questions remain with respect to the omissions and discrepancies in Syria’s declaration to the OPCW and about continued allegations of 

use’’; 

Whereas chlorine gas attacks in northern Syria have been repeatedly reported since mid-April 2014; 

Whereas although chlorine is not required to be declared or 

destroyed under the Chemical Weapons Convention, its 

use in warfare is still prohibited under the Convention; 

Whereas the OPCW established a Fact-Finding Mission to 

investigate allegations of the use of weaponized chlorine; 

Whereas in the OPCW’s second report released on September 

10, 2014, the investigators concluded they have ‘‘compelling confirmation’’ that a toxic chemical was used ‘‘systematically and repeatedly’’ as a weapon against villages 

in northern Syria and that ‘‘chlorine, either pure or in 

mixture’’ was used in attacks on the villages of 

Talmanes, Al Tamanah, and Kafr Zeta; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United Nations Security 

Council adopted Resolution 2209 (2015), condemning the 

use of chlorine gas as a weapon in Syria and that those 

responsible for the use of chemical weapons including 

chlorine must be held accountable; 

Whereas in a June 16, 2015, hearing of the House Foreign 

Affairs Committee, United States Permanent RepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Jun 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR346.IH HR346

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•HRES 346 IH 

tive to the United Nations, Samantha Power, testified 

that there are alarming and grave reports that the Assad 

regime has been turning chlorine into a chemical weapon; 

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on June 16, 

2015, that he was ‘‘absolutely certain’’ that the Assad regime has used chlorine against his people; 

Whereas despite the adoption of United Nations Security 

Council Resolution 2209, the Assad regime has continued 

its chlorine attacks; 

Whereas chemical weapons, including chlorine, are but one of 

the many heinous and violent methods with which the 

Assad regime kills its own citizens; 

Whereas barrel bombs dropped from helicopters are the primary method of delivery for the Assad regime’s chemical 

weapons; 

Whereas the Assad regime’s control over Syrian airspace facilitates his regime’s use of chlorine gas against his citizens; and 

Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey stated in a letter to Congress that a no-fly 

zone would result in ‘‘the near total elimination of the regime’s ability to bomb opposition strongholds and sustain 

its forces by air’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the Assad regime for its atrocities 

3 against the Syrian people, including its use of chlo4 rine as a weapon; 


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•HRES 346 IH 

1 (2) condemns the use of any toxic chemical, in2 cluding chlorine, as a weapon in the Syrian Arab 

3 Republic; 

4 (3) maintains that those who have engaged in 

5 such unlawful actions should be held accountable by 

6 the international community and urges the President 

7 to report to Congress on the use of chemical weap8 ons, including chlorine, in Syria; 

9 (4) maintains that no party in Syria should use, 

10 develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or trans11 fer chemical weapons, including weapons employing 

12 chlorine; 

13 (5) calls on the Administration to— 

14 (A) continue offering material support to 

15 appropriate programs and individuals collecting 

16 evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside 

17 of Syria; 

18 (B) assist in the cataloguing and preserva19 tion of evidence of use and responsibility of use 

20 of chemical weapons; and 

21 (C) facilitate the future transfer of evi22 dence of the use of chemical weapons to an ap23 propriate legal forum for use in prosecuting 

24 those responsible for the illegal use of chemical 

25 weapons; and 


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•HRES 346 IH 

1 (6) urges the international community to estab2 lish a comprehensive strategy regarding Syria which 

3 may include the possibility of establishing a no-fly 

4 zone in Syria. 

Æ 


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